Towards a Global Ethic

Towards a Global Ethic

Updated in 2018 to include a Culture of Sustainability and Care for the Earth.

Towards a Global Ethic: Initial Declaration, also known as the Global Ethic, expresses a shared set of core values found in the teachings of the world’s religious, spiritual, and ethical traditions. The Global Ethic, mostly drafted by Professor Hans Küng in consultation with several hundred leaders and scholars, became an official declaration of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1993. For the first time in history, representatives of all the world’s religions agreed that there are common ethical commitments foundational to each of their traditions:

Human beings should be treated humanely

The Golden Rule of reciprocity

A commitment to peace and justice

These were spelled out in four directives. A fifth directive was added in 2018.

Commitment to a Culture of Non-violence and Respect for Life.

Commitment to a culture of solidarity and a just economic order.

Commitment to a culture of tolerance and a life of truthfulness.

Commitment to a Culture of Equal Rights and Partnership Between Men and Women.